<< Prev Page 2 of 2 Whereas the Trans-Am effort was run in partnership with Group 44, Audi of America opted to embark on the IMSA campaign on their own. Trans-Am champion Hurley Haywood was retained as was Hans-Joachim Stuck. For the long endurance events, they were joined by Scott Goodyear and Walter Rohrl. With the brand new car still under development, Audi opted to sit out both the long distance Daytona 24 Hours and Sebring 12 Hours, which were the first and third round of the championship respectively.

Known internally as the R5, the 90 IMSA GTO made its debut in Miami for a 45-minute sprint race but both cars failed to reach the finish due to an accident and gearbox failure. Round four at Summit Point proved far more successful with Stuck and Haywood scoring a one-two victory. The experienced German would score six more wins in the following nine races. Unfortunately, the points lost in the opening three rounds to very consistent Pete Halsmer with his Mercury Cougar XR7 meant that both Stuck and Audi finished the season in second.

Needless to say the success of the Quattros in the United States had not gone unnoticed by the Audi executives in Germany and it was decided to exploit the potential of the all-wheel drive system in the prestigious DTM championship in 1990. This meant that the 90 IMSA GTO was mothballed at the end of its debut season. Judging from the performance in the second half the 1989 season, Audi of America looked set to dominate in 1990. Sadly, we will never know just how the hugely sophisticated machine would have fared in a full season.<< Prev Page 2 of 2